misleading conclusions
by greystreet
Summary: post ajbac, what if lydecker had never dragged logan out of the woods next to manticore? CHAPTER 7 ADDED!!!!
1. Default Chapter

disclaimer: i dont own DA, or the characters in it.   
  


AN: okay, think way back to season 1 finale. well this is an alternate ending to AJBAC, what if lydecker didnt drag Logan away from Max while she was dying in the woods?   


CH. 1   


Logan ran through the woods, looking despertly for any sign of Max. When he saw her lying still on the ground, he felt his heart break, and ran up to her. He knelt down, gently held her, and looked at the entrance hole in her lef upper chest, 'Oh damnit!' he thought "You're gonna be okay." He said, trying to convince himself more than Max, she already knew it was the end for her "This isn't bad."   
"Logan..." Max looked up at his face and stared into his eyes   
"It's okay," he said "You're going to be alright."   
"I'm sorry." Max said softly, she was short of breath, but she just had to tell him how she felt, just once out loud, and hear him say it back to her.   
'What the hell are you apologizing for?' Logan thought 'You are the only good thing that's happened to me in a while.' then wondering why he could never say those things out loud he said "No, no, no, no, no we're going to get you out of here. Okay? You're going to be alright." 'You have to be allright'   
Max looked up at him with tears starting to form in her eyes "There's something I've got to tell you." she stopped for a second to catch her breath, she had alway wanted to say so much to Logan, but never had gotten up enough courage to do so. She had always imagined telling him how much he ment to her over a candlelight dinner and some wine. But she knew in reality, that that would never happen, so she would tell him now. "I should have said something a long time ago..." she started to cry, and Logan interuppted   
"It can wait."   
"Logan..." Max started, but lost the strength to finish her thoughts, she stared at her face, and then her eyes rolled back in her head, and the world went black. Logan felt her go limp in his arms, and tears started to form in his eyes.   
"Max...no...no...Max..." he started to feel hot tears run down his face, 'she's not gone.' he thought, 'I'll get her back to Seattle and then someone can save her.' he started to try and pick her up, when a voice interrupted his thoughts and actions   
"Put your hands up, and stand slowly." someone barked at Logan. He turned around to see three X-7's and an X-6 standing behind him, all with their M-16's trained on him. He didn't stand up, he just held Max close to his chest. "I wont tell you again. Stand up slowly!" the X-6 commanded, when Logan failed to respond, one of the X-7's hit him hard with the butt of the rifle, and Logan slumped unconcious ontop of Max. "Pick him up." the X-6 commanded two X-7's. "Take him as a POW and see what General Renfro wants to do with him." The X-7's saluted him and carried Logan off torward Manticore. "Help me get the X-5 to the hospital wing." he commanded the other X-7, and then they carried Max off inside.  
  
  
TBC (if anyone wants the rest)  
  
  
so if you liked it, hated it, didnt think it was bad, but wouldnt go as far as saying that it was good...please review.  
  
  
  
-peace 


	2. ch 2

disclaimer: i do not own anything   
  
  
  


Logan slowly came back into coniesness. At first he didn't remember anything that happened before, but as soon as he opened his eyes everything came flooding back. He was not strapped down, and still had his exoskeleton, but it didn't matter, he lacked the will to stand, or even to breath for that matter. He just stared up at the ceiling, and thought about Max, and how pointless living is without her. 'Just as we were becoming something.' he thought to himself 'Finnaly after a whole year of pretending I dont love her, we adimit it to each other. She loved me, everything I've ever dreamed of, could have become reality, and now she's dead, before I even got to say "I love you".' His thoughts were interrupted when he heard the bolt slide and the door swing open. Two armed guards entered the room, followed by Renfro. Logan suddenly sprang up as if he was lying on nails, he lunged at Renfo, full of loathing for the site of her. The guards easily held him back, and threw him to the floor. Renfro looked at him, "Well, well, well. If it isn't 452's boyfriend. Nice to see you finnaly decided to wake up, It's been an entire week. Those tranquilizers worked better than expected"   
"Her name is Max!" Logan said sharply to her, Renfro ignored his comment and spoke to the guards,   
"Take him to the interrogation room, and I'll be in shortly." and she walked out of the room.   
"Yes ma'am." both guards replied as she left, then one picked Logan roughly up off of the ground, "Get up!" one said and backhanded him across the face, hot blood poured from Logan's nose, he stood up and the guards handcuffed him, and led him out of the cell. They walked down three different hallways, the were all painted white, and had a hospital type feeling. They led Logan into a small room, with a table, and chair inside it. One guard shoved him into the chair, and the other tied him to it. Then they left him there alone. About five minutes later, Renfro entered the room and let the door slam behind her. This time there was only one other guard with her.   
"I'm going to ask you a few questions," Renfro started "and we can do this the easy way or the painful way, but I wont stop until i get some answers." She stopped to see what effect her words had on Logan, and when she saw no change in expression, she continued "What is your name?" Logan remained silent, and after a minute, the guard hit across the chest with the but of his rifle. Logan winced as he heard a few ribs crack like breaking eggs, but resisted the urge to yell. Renfro continued with another question, "Do you know the locations of any other X-5's?" Logan still didnt answer her, and the guard hit him again. Renfro was obviously very upset that she was not getting any answers, but Logan remained as still and silent as a statue. Renfro decided to repeat the question "Where are the other X-5's? You must know." Logan still didnt say a word, and the guard hit him hard, in the head, with the rifle. Logan felt blood streaming down the side of his head, and blacked out. "Carry him back to his cell." Renfro ordered the guard "Give him only water for three days, then I'll be back to interrogate him again." She left the room and walked into the corridor. 

Max woke up slowly, she had dreamed that she was at Logan's, and was expecting to find herself there when she woke up. She opened her eyes, and looked around. She was groggy, and didn't know where she was, "Logan?" she asked, still half asleep.   
"So that's his name." Renfro said, surprising Max who didn't realize she was there.   
"Where am I?" Max asked, even though she already knew the answer,   
"I think you know," Renfro said, and started to walk out of the room, then turned around and walked back to Max's bedside, "This Logan," she began "does he look anything like this?" she showed Max a picture of Logan tied to the chair, unconsious with blood streaming down the side of his head. "He's dead." Renfro said, "He got captured trying to save you. And now he's dead." Max put her head on the pillow and stared at the ceiling, 'It's not true.' she thought, 'He cant be dead now, not because of me.' But she looked again at the picture, which Renfro had taped next to her bed in a very visable place, and she was thurally convinced that her one true friend, the only person she had ever connected with was dead, 'There's no reason left to try.' she thought.  
  
TBC  
  
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AN: i apologize for how short these chapters have been, i think i write better when i have shorter chapters. let me know what you think...should i continue? 


	3. ch 3

disclaimer: what i want is what i've not got...DA is one of those things, i dont own it, i'm just borrowing it.  
  
AN: i'm really sorry about how long its taken me to get this next chapter up, and it hasn't been betaed, so there are probably a ton of grammatical errors, and i apologize in advance. i should be posting more often now that things have quieted down on the home front. thanks to everyone who read this in may and reviewed!  
  
  
CHAPTER 3 

It had been one month since the fateful attack on Manticore, and that time inside had almost killed Logan, physically, mentally, and emotionally he was completely drained. He was practically starved, since he could not give Renfro the information that she wanted from him, she was only allowing him just enough food to barely get by. The weekly torture sessions did not get any easier for him. The guards continued to brutally beat him for his silence, and Renfro used every opertunity to attack Logan emotionally by bringing up Max. His exoskeleton was completely busted up by this point, so while he was in his cell, he couldn't even move around, he just lied on the cot, thinking about Max, and waiting for the guards to wheel him off to interrogation.

That one month in Manticore for Max was one month in a living hell. The first two weeks had been horrible for her. Renfro had found her weak spot, Logan, and took every oppertunity to exploit it. She would strap Max to a chair in a dark room, facing a projection screen. On this screen Renfro played a video of Logan being beaten until he was unconsious, to Max he appeared to be dead. By the end of the third week, Max became submissive, obeying all orders and drilling with various squads of other X-5's. This had gained her some freedom within the complex, but Renfro was still extremely careful about where Max went and when. Renfro had a guard go with her almost every where, but it was really for no need, Max had lost almost all desire to face the outside world. She had convinced herself that even if she did make it back to Seattle, she would be putting all her other friends at the risk of sharing Logan's fate. On the outside she was weakening, but every night when she was lying all alone in her solitary cell with her eyes closed, she pictured Logan, and in her mind she could see his smiling face over a candlelight dinner, or the way that his blue eyes sparkled when he thought he had her beat in a game of chess, and the way he joked after she easily out manuvered him, beating him quickly. Each night her mind would go through these memories, remembering who she really is, Max, not 452, Max.  
  
"452." a voice interrupted Max's thoughts. An armed guard had opened the cell door and stepped inside, "It's 0500, and I have been instructed to take you to the field." The field is where Max and the others assembled in the morning, before mess, to run through drills. The night had gone by so quickly, and Max got up reluctantly to follow the guard into the corridor. Max had never liked the corridors at hospitals because they reminded her of Manticore. The hallways all had a sterile smell, and the walls were a bare white. At the same moment the guard had come to get Max, a guard had arrived at Logan's cell, to wheel him off to interogation. Just as the guards opened the door to his cell, Max and the other guard were walking past. Logan had his back to the door, but Max had glanced in as she was walking by, and what she saw caused her to stop. Even though his back was to her, she was almost positive that the man in the cell was Logan, she was waiting for him to turn around so she could get a better look, but was interrupted by the guard next to her, "Keep moving 452." and he prompted her along with the automatic rifle he was carrying until they were out in the field.  
  
Logan was showing no resistance towards the guard who wheeled him away from his cell, he didn't feel anything but pain, coursing through his entire body, but especially his heart. He still couldn't believe that he had lost Max forever. The guard wheeled him, not to the interrogation room, but down to the basement level where there were labs and operation rooms. Logan was taken into one of the operation rooms and placed in a chair that looked like a the one in a dentist's office, then they strapped his arms and legs down tightly. Renfro walked in a few minutes later, briefly glanced at him, then approached the med-tech in the corner, "Are you ready to beging the procedure?"   
  
"Yes ma'am." the med-tech replyed, "But, he's too weak to guarentee that he survives."  
  
"What do you mean?" Renfro asked sharply  
  
"Psycoactive theropy is still experimental, there have been very few of the non-X-series that have undergone it, and the few that did, had a very hard time. And in his present condition, I can't tell you for certain that he lives through the whole procedure."  
  
"As long as he lives long enough to tell me what I need to know. He knows where the other X-5's are, and I have to find out. After he tells me that, he's expendible." Renfro's tone was icey  
  
"Again ma'am, I can not say for sure that he will live through this treatment. If you take a little more time..."  
  
"I do not have more time." Renfro inturrupted him, "The comittee is considering closing down the project unless I can bring in more of the rouge X-5's, and this man knows where they are. So just do as I say!" Renfro was quickly losing her patience and the lab tech picked up on that.  
  
"Yes ma'am." He went up to Logan and started preping him for psycoactives.  
  
  
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TBC  
  
  
AN: i know that was another really short chapter, but i'll probably post the next one tomarrow. tell me what you thought....good, bad, horrible?


	4. ch 4

disclaimer: see ch 3  
  
AN: thanks to everyone who reviewed, i know my writing is not all that great w/ alot of discription and the grammer's probably really bad, but here's another chapter, i hope you like it!  
  
  
  
CHAPTER 4

  
  
"Lets go 452!" the drill segent was yelling at Max as she and the rest of the troops were doing push-ups, "I want to see your nose touch the ground! Put some effort in it! Lets go!" Max wasn't listening to him, she just kept doing the push-ups, 'He's so much like Normal,' Max thought to herself, 'and although I thought I'd never say this, but I'd actually be happy see Normal's face at this moment.' "Ten-hut!" the segent's call brought Max sharply out of her thoughts. The troop of X-5's got up as one body and stood, strait backed, chin and arms in, staring strait ahead. Max was one among the masses, but her mind was miles away, she couldn't stop thinking about the man she saw in the corridor. Although the logical part of her mind told her that it was just some guy, but she had to see him again, just to make sure it wasn't Logan. "About face! Forward March", at that order, all of the soldiers on the field were marched into the mess hall. 

Max found herself swept along with the crowd in the mess line, when she got to the counter, a soldier who was on duty in the kitchen scooped a pile of mush, that was supposed to be oatmeal, onto a tray and handed it to her. She took her tray, and sat at an empty table in the corner of the crowded room, she was scanning the people eating, trying to find a way to get out without being noticed, but her hopes were pretty much put to rest when the guard who was assigned to watch her sat down across from her, "452", he nodded a quick acknowledgment to her before digging into the military version of oatmeal. Max picked at hers for a while, but didn't eat anything. She remembered the breakfast that Logan had made the last time she had a seizure and stayed in his guestroom. Pancakes with strawberry topping and gormet coffee, nothing like the mush and goat piss that she was getting here. 'I guess he did spoil me.' Max thought sadly 'And then I go and get him killed, I'm one in a million.' 

Renfro was pacing the basement lab room, "How long will this take?" she asked the med-tech impatiently.

"Give him three more minutes before I start the laser." he answered, "It take's a little longer to take effect on humans because we have to give them the shot in a smaller dose." Renfro continued pacing for some odd minutes, while the med-tech readied the equiptment. At exactly three minutes, Renfro approached Logan and switched on the laser. 

When Logan woke up he was lying in his bed at home, he sat up slowly wondering if this a dream, or if he had just woken up from a really bad dream. Max came walking into his room wearing his bathrobe, and layed down next to him, "Were you just going to sleep all day?"

"I was going to get up eventually, just briefly to save the world." he replied with a smile, just seeing her alive made him think it was a dream, but it seemed so real it was hard not to believe that she was right next to him.

"Sorry, but you cant sleep in today," Max said to him "today we're going to see Zane."  
  
"Zane?" Logan looked at her quizically, "How would you even know where to find Zane?"  
  
"I thought you might have his address lying around." Max said almost accusingly.  
  
"Listen, Max, I know I told you that I would find your siblings in exchange for your help with Eyes-Only, but it's been hard. Your brothers and sisters know how to cover their tracks very well." Logan replied, thinking this whole conversation was going very strangly.  
  
"Right." Max replied, "My help with Eyes-Only. Thats ok, that you didn't find Zane. You didn't happen to find any of the others did you?"   
  
"No," Logan said, "Just that most of them are trying to get to Canada, remember the cable-hack that Zack had me do, to warn them?" Logan was starting to wonder about Max's sanity, when he suddenly became aware of a throbbing pain in his head and he opened his eyes. He was back in his cell at Manticore, lying on the cot and staring at the ceiling. 'What a dream.' he thought to himself, 'I only wish it were true, I'd rather have an insane Max, than no Max.'

  
"Listen to me carefully." Renfro was standing in the command center talking to one of the men in charge, "I want u to scan everything we have saved on any hard drive in this complex, and I want you to find an Eyes-Only bullitien about the rouge X-5's. Understood?"   
  
"Yes ma'am." the man gave a quick salute and headed off.  
  
'I may have gotten two birds with one stone,' Renfro thought to herself, 'The boys upstairs have been wanting to get Eyes-Only for a while.'   
  


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TBC....  
  
  
AN: so what did yall think? let me know and i should have the next chapter out w/in a few days.  
  
  
peace


	5. ch 5

AN: so my muse pretty much died on the operating table this past week, but I did manage to come up with this somewhat disappointing chapter, and if i get some more reviews, then i'll continue cause i have a pretty good idea where i'm going with this now.

CHAPTER 5

Early next morning, X6-115 walked down the hall as her CO was briefing her on her assignment. "She was recaptured about a month ago, and has been in reindocteration since, but Renfro wants you to stay with 452 at all times because she still presents a flight risk."

"So basically I just follow her around and make sure she doesn't run away?" 

"That's right." the CO said with a laugh, "A hell of alot easier than your last assignment. I still can't believe they sent YOU on an undercover mission to eliminate that bastard."  
  
"Yeah." 115 replied, then they quickly straightened up and stopped talking as an X-5 approached them.

"Are you the new guard for 452?" the X-5 asked

"Yes sir." 115 replied

"She shouldn't be too much trouble for you. I doubt she's even a flight risk any more, but whatever Renfro says goes." the X-6's nodded and the X-5 continued walking down the hall leaving them outside Max's cell door.

"Man, that guy is so uptight, he needs to have a drink." 115 said

"You've been outside too long. If anyone hears you talking like that about your supieriors they're going to send you to psy-ops for a reindocteration program." the CO said seriously.

"I think you'd fit in good at psy-ops." 115 stated just as seriously, "You could be back with your own kind." she was referring to the nomilies.

"Alright, just open the door." the CO laughed along with his friend. He loved when he got to talk to 115 without commanders around, she was very easygoing, especially for a born killer.

"Yes sir." 115 mockingly saluted and opened the door to find Max lying on the cot. Her CO left and she entered the cell, closing the door behind her, then she spoke to Max, "It's just about time for the morning drills."

"Right." Max got off the cot, and looked at the young X-6 curiously. 

"I'm X6-115." she had picked up on Max's questioning look, "And I will be escorting you around our beautiful institution for the next few weeks."

"Alright, whatever." Max couldn't help but smile this comment, and the fact that it was spoken by a girl around 16, wearing camoflauge, and carrying an M-16 automatic rifle, who was standing in the middle of her cell pretending to be a tour guide. Max followed the X-6 out into the hall, and listened in amusement as she continued to point out various landmarks and described a long made-up history of a red paint stain on the wall. Suddenly she stopped talking and started walking, back straight, face serious next to Max. No more than two seconds later, Renfro walked into the corridor.  
  
"Ma'am." she saluted Renfro  
  
"Ah, 115, I'm glad to see you got your new assignment." Then Renfro looked at Max, who saluted and stood at attention. "452, I assume everything is satisfactory."

"Yes ma'am." Max held back the loathing that she had for Renfro and told her what she wanted to hear.

"Good." Renfro nodded at 115, "Carry on." 

"Man," 115 said when they were far enough down the hall, "She's something else. When she walks into the room, I almost wish for Col. Lydecker." After Max nodded, 115 continued, "Now where was I? Ah, yes the red spot on the wall..." Max just listened in amazement as she finished telling the story that she had started before Renfro's interuption.

Renfro walked up to the confrence room where three men who represented the comittee sat waiting for her. She sat down at the head of the long table and addressed the men, "Gentlemen, I think you will be quite pleased with some new developments on the prisoners." she paused, but when she got no reaction, she continued, "I am positive that the male is Eyes-Only. We used psycoactives on him and he all but confessed to it."

The man in the center nodded, "Eliminate him immediatly. How is the progress of X5-452?"

"She is coming along nicely." Renfro stated, "I think she is almost ready to be operational."

"Before you put her on any missions, make her prove her loyalty, by killing Eyes-Only." 

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TBC........  
  
  
so...what'd you think? If anyone wants to read it, I'll post the next chapter either later tonight, or tomarrow. 


	6. ch 6

AN: So here's another short chapter. I know alot of it is dialoge between the nameless X-6 and Max, but I have a feeling that a friendship between them could be an intricate part of Max and Logan living happily ever after outside of Manticore. Please Read and Reveiw....critisism is more than welcome, i know that everyone who reads this can think of something i'm doing wrong.....feel free to inform me of these shortcomings. Other than that enjoy!

CHAPTER 6

After the drills, Max and the X-6 sat alone at a table in the mess hall poking at the food. 115 complaining constantly, "Man, they say it's bad in Seattle, but at least the food is edible in the real world."

"You were in Seattle?" Max asked, she was actually enjoying the conversation, it was a pleasent change from everyone else in the complex.

"Yup. I just got back two days ago. I was on an elimination mission."

"What fun." Max replied sarcastically.

"Yeah, it was pretty bad," 115 said "and I know that I probably sound weak, but I had a hard time killing this guy."

"That doesn't sound weak." Max replied, "It sounds too normal for this place, but not weak."

"I mean, the man had two little girls, and I don't even know what he did to deserve being killed." She paused for a second, "But you can't question orders here."

"How long were you in Seattle?" Max asked

"A little over a month."   
  
"Wow, that long for an undercover elimination." Max whistled, "What took so long?"

"Nothing really, I just liked being outside with out these morons telling me what to do. So I watched the building, ate sushi, and walked around Seattle until I could convince myself that I had to kill him and come back here."

"Why did you come back at all?" Max asked

"I'm not sure." 115 replied, "I sure didn't want to come back here, but if I didn't they would find me eventually and drag me back anyway."

"I guess." Max replied

"It's almost 0900 hours, your supposed to be back in your cell by then." 115 stood up and Max followed her out into the hall. "Why did you leave Manticore?" she asked when they were a safe distance from the guards at the door.

"Our CO planned it." Max said, "We just couldn't take our watching one another die or disappear in the middle of the night."

"Were you actually happy outside?" 

"At first it was hard, but after I got used to it life was good." Max replied, "Especially the last year, I found someone who I opened up to and he cared about me for who I am. When I was with him I felt wanted, he didn't ever make me feel like a freak or a mistake." She paused, "Now I probably sound weak."

"Not at all," 115 said "that's what everyone wants, to be accepted."

"I guess." Max nodded, "But I am a freak. I'm a danger to everyone on the outside, it's because of me that he's dead."

"How'd he die?"

"When we attacked Manticore, he came too." Max said "When I was shot, he came looking for me and got captured and was killed." Max could feel a lump beginning to form in her throught.

"Wait a sec." 115 interrupted, "This man, is he about 6 foot or so, w/ dark blonde hair, glasses, and uses a wheelchair?" She didn't wait for Max to answer, the look on her face was enough, "He's not dead."

"But I saw pictures and videos of his death. Renfro's guards beat him to death."

"Propaganda." 115 coughed, "I'll walk you by where they're keeping him, my CO should be guarding the door, maybe you can look in through the bars while I distract him." Max was speechless as they walked down the hall to where Logan was being kept. "Hey, 403!" 115 called out to the guard at the door, "Guess what they're serving for lunch?" Max noticed that the boy at the door visible relaxed as he approached his friend.

"What?" he asked

"I was actually hoping you could tell me." 115 replied "As far as I could tell it was some sort of unidentifed mush."

"Your spoiled, you know that...." their conversation went on while Max walked over to the bars on the cell door and peeked inside. There was no mistaking the identity of the man lying on the cot, and Max's heart lept when she saw him, only to have it sink to her stomach when she realized how beaten he was. There were long cuts running down his muscular arms. His scruffy beard was matted with blood and his face was bruised and cut. 

"Logan...psst, Logan" Max whispered into the cell trying to stay quiet so she wouldn't alert anyone.

"Max." Logan mumbled, he was fast asleep. Max felt horrible for him, but hid her feelings as she walked back to her cell with 115. 

When they got to Max's cell, they found Renfro waiting for her there. "452," Renfro nodded at Max, who saluted and stood at attention. "at ease." Renfro gave the command and Max obeyed. "How is everything?"

"Very good ma'am." Max replied

"That's good." Renfro replied, "I'm sure that you would love to get out of your cell and back into the barracks wouldn't you?"

"Very much so ma'am." Max gave a standard issue reply.

"I though so." Renfro nodded, "And your sister Brin has been awaiting your arrival for quite some time now, she is looking forward to having you back."

"As I am looking forward to seeing her." Max replied

"Before I can let you back with the other soldiers, I have one mission that you must complete successfully. After that you will be just as free as anyone else in this complex." Renfro said

'Right free.' 115 thought sarcastically, 'We are locked up in a cage, yet we're free. What a paradox.'

"I want you to meet me in the briefing room tomarrow at 0600 hours, I will give you your instructions there." Renfro ordered

"Yes ma'am." Max replyed

"And 115," Renfro turned her head to the X-6, "I want to speak to you privatly." 

"Yes ma'am." 115 replied and locked Max into her cell. Then she walked down the hall a little ways to where Renfro was standing.

"How is 452 doing?" Renfro asked 

"I'm not sure I know what you are asking ma'am."

"Does she ever talk about home, the outside, friends, or especially a certain male friend who also happens to be Eyes-Only?"

"Never ma'am." 115 lied

"Good." Renfro nodded, "That will be all. Resume your post."

"Yes ma'am." 115 saluted and walked back to stand outside of Max's cell. 

TBC......

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AN: so there's another chapter....tell me what you thought. Thanks a ton to everyone who reviewed :)   
  
  
  
  
  
  
peace


	7. ch 7

disclaimer: dont own it

AN: I had an extremely difficult time writing this chapter, that's why it took me so long to post it. Personally I think it's a little weak, but i'd love to hear what you thought of it, even if you hated it!

CHAPTER 7

As the clock approached 0600, Renfro paced the briefing room impaciantly. Just as the clock hands turned to the assigned hour, Max knocked on the briefing room door, "Enter" Renfro called from the inside, and Max and 115 walked into the room and stood at attention. "452, 115" Renfro acknowledged both of them with a nod before giving them the command, "At ease." Then Renfro turned to Max and looked her up and down, "Are you ready to prove your loyalty to your unit, your team, and your home?" she asked

"Yes ma'am!" Max gave a resounding reply at which Renfro nodded and continued,

"Throughout the past year, all of our progress in bringing your brothers and sisters home has been compremised by one man. Eyes-Only." Renfro watched Max for her reaction. Max stood complety still, in soldier mode, but her mind was racing as Renfro, satitsfied by Max's preformance, continued, "We have him here in our custody, and the commitee has written out an order for his termination." Again she paused waiting for a reaction, but Max didn't flinch, so she continued. "After the past few weeks of careful survielence, your superior officers have recommended that you should be assigned this task. I want you to take him out to the yard and shoot him, execution style in the head. Then bury him. Understood?"

"Yes ma'am!" Max replied

"When you are finished, report back to me and I will assign you to a barrack where you can live among your siblings again." Renfro said

"Yes ma'am." Max saluted. Outwardly, she appeared to be calm and happy about going back to the barracks, but internally she was a mess.

"115," Renfro turned to the X-6, "If 452 can't finish the job, kill Eyes-Only, then bring 452 back to her cell."

"Yes ma'am." 115 replied

"Good." Renfro nodded, "Dissmissed." 

At that, Max and 115 saluted and walked out of the room, closing the door behind them. When they were a little ways down the hall, the facade that Max had been wearing broke away, "I can't kill him." she said frantically, more to herself than 115, "But if I don't then they will. I have to get him out of here."

"You have a parapaleigic who is badly injured and weakened, X-7's patrolling the perimeter with automatic rifles, and a ten foot fence with razor wire. Now how do you get the parapaleigic over the fence without alerting the X-7's, who would shoot and alert command?" 115 layed out the outline of the situation more for herself than Max, but Max replyed,

"If I knew then I wouldn't be in here, I'd be gone." 

"Sorry." 115 apologized, and the hall went silent as both were trying to think of a solution to the dilemma that was facing them. As they arrived at the room where Logan was being kept, 115 went to talk to her CO, who was guarding the door. "I have orders from command that place the prisoner under my control." she handed him the signed order and he looked at it briefly before handing 115 the keys.

"Termination huh? How come you get all the fun jobs?" the CO asked with a laugh

"I'm special." 115 replied with a laugh, "You don't happen to have any wire cutters lying around do you?"

"Not on me, why?" the CO looked at 115 suspiciously.

"I'm gonna be out in the yard, and I've been cooking up a little practical joke on those X-7's out there, but I need wire cutters." 115 said

"Another practical joke? You almost got caught last time." the CO looked at 115 in amusement.

"I know, but this is too good of an oppertunity to miss. I mean just look at those kids out there, I've never seen one of them smile, they need a little prank pulled on them." 115 insisted with a grin

"I guess your right. I've got some in my locker, hold on while I get them." the CO walked down the hall and disappeared around a corner.

"Practical joke?" Max asked 115 in surprise, "You've actually pulled practical jokes on people in here before? And your CO knew about it but didn't turn you in? Manticore's evolved since my time I guess."

"He's cool," 115 said referring to the CO, "I think he likes to see the mood lighten a little, but he's all soldier. If he knew that when I say how terrible Manticore is, that I ment it, he'd probably turn me in. But he goes along with my jokes, because even Manticore soldiers got to have a little fun."

"I guess." Max replyed

"Yeah," 115 agreed, then got back to buisness, "Allright, I have an idea on how to get out of here, I'll tell you when we get outside. Go inside the cell and get Eyes-Only, but there are video cameras in the cell, and you could bet that Renfro is watching, so act like a soldier." 115 opened the cell door and Max walked inside.

"Get up, it's time to go." Max tried to sound like a soldier, but she could feel a lump form in her throat when she saw Logan up close, he looked so weak and injured. He opened his eyes and looked up at her,  
  
"Max?" he asked, not believing his own eyes at first, then smiling, "Oh my god, Max. You're alive. But how? You died in my arms." Max didn't show any sign of recognition, even thought she was fighting to keep control of herself, she wanted to kiss him, and just lay in his arms. 'There will be time for that later.' Max thought to herself, 'Just concentrate on getting out of here.' 

"Time to go." she repeated and pulled Logan out of his cot and into the wheelchair next to it. Then after placing handcuffs on his hands, she started wheeling him out into the hall.

"Where are you taking me Max?" Logan asked

"452." Max replied

"What?" Logan looked confused.

"My name's 452." Max stated and Logan fell silent, confused. Up in the control room, Renfro was watching the security camera footage of Logan's cell and nodded her approval.

Once Max wheeled Logan out into the hall, 115 shut and locked the cell door, and led them out to the yard. They came to a stop near the perimeter fence, in a place where they were under cover of trees and shrubs. "Stay here." 115 said to Max and Logan, as she went off swiftly and quietly to the perimeter fence and started working with the wire cutters, making a hole near the ground, just big enough to crawl though.

"Max?" Logan asked again, and Max could not contain herself any longer.

"Logan," she wrapped her arms around him, "I missed you. I thought....the pictures she showed me....I thought I killed you." Max was trying despertly to hold back tears, 'Your not out of the woods yet,' her commen sense kicked in and she started to pull away, 'He will be dead if you don't keep your head in the game long enough to get out of here.' But Logan pulled her closer, not wanting her to let go.

"Alright." 115 said interupting the moment, "The X-7's shouldn't be around this area for another fifteen minutes. There's a hole big enough to crawl through, belly down. Will you be able to do that?" she asked Logan

"I think so," he replyed, "but what do we do after we're on the other side? I can't exactly walk away, and this wheelchair doesn't fold up."

"We'll carry you down to where the road is, then maybe we can hitch a ride with someone driving westward." 115 said. Logan didn't like the idea of being carried, especially in front of Max, but he knew there was no other apparent soloution, so he just nodded.

"Let's go." 115 said, and crawled easily through the hole. "Him next." she pointed at Logan, who started crawling through the hole. It was clear as day that he was in severe pain, and it was hindering his ability to get through fast. But after a minute or two, 115 saw an X-7 starting to make his way down towards them, so she grabbed Logan's arms and pulled him until his entire body was on the other side of the fence. "Sorry, the guards coming." she explained her actions. Max quickly joined them on the outside and they started moving slowly into the woods outside Manticore, 115 carried Logan on her back. They were startled by gunfire, and turned to face the X-7 on the other side of the fence briefly, before picking up pace and booking farther into the woods as the sirens of the alarm that was sounding inside the perimeter fence started wailing. "Damn hive minds." 115 muttered as they headed down towards the road.

TBC...

AN: allright, I dont know if I was being mean stopping there, or if people are falling onto their knees in thankful prayer that I'm done writing this chapter. I'll try to update later today or tomarrow, or again today and tomarrow. I promise next chapter 115 will get a name, but other than that i'm not 100% sure where i'm going with this story, so any imput is appriciated. and please let me know if u think I did ok on this chapter, i was so skeptical about posting it because everytime I read through it, I found more things that I did wrong.

-peace, love, and space to believe,  
--trish


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